crock pot French dip sandwiches.

When life gets busy, I turn to my crock pot.  I made this recipe last night and changes it from a 12 hour oven cook time to an easy crock pot meal.  It turned out great.  It also pleased my tired, hardworking, hungry man very much.  Reagan helped me with the entire meal, from the easy prep in the morning to shredding the meat before dinner. I love cooking with my little lady.  Enjoy. 

crock pot french dip sandwiches

2 rump or chuck roasts

4 onions, quartered 

4 carrots

8 cloves of pressed garlic

beef bouillon or stock

Put the roast in the crock pot and fill the pot with water (or stock) until the roast is half-way covered.  Top with big chunks of onions and carrots (you'll remove them later), minced garlic, and a couple cubes or tsp of beef boullion (if you didn't use stock). Set crock pot to low for 6-7 hours.

Drain out amazing juices for the "au juice" into a large bowl and shred up the meat, removing any large pieces of fat.  Toss carrots or eat them...if you like mushy, salty carrots (no thanks)!  Makes 10-12 sandwiches.

               

Serve with your favorite roll and a ramekin of au juice.  We also added the cooked onions to our sandwiches--delicious!  

recipe adapted from the kitchen of Mary Ahrendt 

eight.

when we first saw double.

It's been a year since I sat on that ultrasound table and saw double.  Two sacks.  Two placentas.  Two little heads and two little bodies.

Most of you all know I tend to have the wrong emotions at the wrong time.  I have big reactions for the little things.  I rarely cry at an appropriate moment.  But today, I'm sappy and I'm nostalgic and I'm celebrating and I bought donuts.  My two little babes!  They are the heart of this family.  They have blessed our entire extended family and friends beyond measure and they are making me more like Jesus at a much more rapid pace than a singleton would.  I'll drink to that!

Cheers to Ellen Grace and James Valutis (formerly known as twin a and twin b).

Here are some sleeping pictures because that is how sappy I am today!!!!!

first summer of three.

When I look back on this past summer I wonder what I will remember.  It was sometimes wild and sometimes very simple.

 It started with two little babies that were needy and pretty demanding... And a two and a half year old that didn't quite understand why twins had showed up at her door.  It began with Joseph's 4 week paternity leave in May, and a visit from my mom in June.

 It ended with two independent 7 month olds, who usually sleep amazing, nurse amazing and fit perfectly in our family.  It ended with an almost 3 year old who's heart is softer, and who wakes up from every sleep wondering where her "Jamesey boy" and "Ellie bellie" are.  It ended with a great routine, confidence in being a mama of three and less piles of clean laundry.

As we venture into fall and our season of outside-all-the-time draws near, I am just so thankful for this sweet summer.  For popsicles on the porch when the twins were still sleeping, for Hudson and Reagan splashing in the "green poo (pool)," for not enough weekends at the lake but sweet time at home with my man, for air conditioning, for Mabel's sweet arrival on a hot august night, for bearable and somewhat peaceful road trips, and for countless trips to countless parks.  We will miss you, summer, but as Reagan keeps saying almost daily, "I can't wait for snow."